Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1990 Dec;62(6):982–987. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1990.421

Lung cancer among women in north-east China.

A H Wu-Williams 1, X D Dai 1, W Blot 1, Z Y Xu 1, X W Sun 1, H P Xiao 1, B J Stone 1, S F Yu 1, Y P Feng 1, A G Ershow 1, et al.
PMCID: PMC1971561  PMID: 2257230

Abstract

A case-control study of lung cancer involving interviews with 965 female patients and 959 controls in Shenyang and Harbin, two industrial cities which have among the highest rates of lung cancer in China, revealed that cigarette smoking is the main causal factor and accounted for about 35% of the tumours among women. Although the amount smoked was low (the cases averaged eight cigarettes per day), the percentage of smokers among women over age 50 in these cities was nearly double the national average. Air pollution from coal burning stoves was implicated, as risks of lung cancer increased in proportion to years of exposure to 'Kang' and other heating devices indigenous to the region. In addition, the number of meals cooked by deep frying and the frequency of smokiness during cooking were associated with risk of lung cancer. More cases than controls reported workplace exposures to coal dust and to smoke from burning fuel. Elevated risks were observed for smelter workers and decreased risks for textile workers. Prior chronic bronchitis/emphysema, pneumonia, and recent tuberculosis contributed significantly to lung cancer risk, as did a history of tuberculosis and lung cancer in family members. Higher intake of carotene-rich vegetables was not protective against lung cancer in this population. The findings were qualitatively similar across the major cell types of lung cancer, except that the associations with smoking and previous lung diseases were stronger for squamous/oat cell cancers than for adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ayesh R., Idle J. R., Ritchie J. C., Crothers M. J., Hetzel M. R. Metabolic oxidation phenotypes as markers for susceptibility to lung cancer. Nature. 1984 Nov 8;312(5990):169–170. doi: 10.1038/312169a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Caporaso N., Hayes R. B., Dosemeci M., Hoover R., Ayesh R., Hetzel M., Idle J. Lung cancer risk, occupational exposure, and the debrisoquine metabolic phenotype. Cancer Res. 1989 Jul 1;49(13):3675–3679. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chan W. C., Colbourne M. J., Fung S. C., Ho H. C. Bronchial cancer in Hong Kong 1976-1977. Br J Cancer. 1979 Feb;39(2):182–192. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1979.29. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cohen B. H., Diamond E. L., Graves C. G., Kreiss P., Levy D. A., Menkes H. A., Permutt S., Quaskey S., Tockman M. S. A common familial component in lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Lancet. 1977 Sep 10;2(8037):523–526. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(77)90663-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gao Y. T., Blot W. J., Zheng W., Ershow A. G., Hsu C. W., Levin L. I., Zhang R., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Lung cancer among Chinese women. Int J Cancer. 1987 Nov 15;40(5):604–609. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910400505. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gao Y. T., Blot W. J., Zheng W., Fraumeni J. F., Hsu C. W. Lung cancer and smoking in Shanghai. Int J Epidemiol. 1988 Jun;17(2):277–280. doi: 10.1093/ije/17.2.277. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hinds M. W., Stemmermann G. N., Yang H. Y., Kolonel L. N., Lee J., Wegner E. Differences in lung cancer risk from smoking among Japanese, Chinese and Hawaiian women in Hawaii. Int J Cancer. 1981 Mar 15;27(3):297–302. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910270307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Kung I. T., So K. F., Lam T. H. Lung cancer in Hong Kong Chinese: mortality and histological types, 1973-1982. Br J Cancer. 1984 Sep;50(3):381–388. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1984.187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Law C. H., Day N. E., Shanmugaratnam K. Incidence rates of specific histological types of lung cancer in Singapore Chinese dialect groups, and their aetiological significance. Int J Cancer. 1976 Mar 15;17(3):304–309. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910170305. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lubin J. H., Blot W. J. Assessment of lung cancer risk factors by histologic category. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1984 Aug;73(2):383–389. doi: 10.1093/jnci/73.2.383. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mumford J. L., He X. Z., Chapman R. S., Cao S. R., Harris D. B., Li X. M., Xian Y. L., Jiang W. Z., Xu C. W., Chuang J. C. Lung cancer and indoor air pollution in Xuan Wei, China. Science. 1987 Jan 9;235(4785):217–220. doi: 10.1126/science.3798109. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ooi W. L., Elston R. C., Chen V. W., Bailey-Wilson J. E., Rothschild H. Familial lung cancer--correcting an error in calculation. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1986 Oct;77(4):990–990. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ooi W. L., Elston R. C., Chen V. W., Bailey-Wilson J. E., Rothschild H. Increased familial risk for lung cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1986 Feb;76(2):217–222. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Skillrud D. M., Offord K. P., Miller R. D. Higher risk of lung cancer in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A prospective, matched, controlled study. Ann Intern Med. 1986 Oct;105(4):503–507. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-105-4-503. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Weng X. Z., Hong Z. G., Chen D. Y. Smoking prevalence in Chinese aged 15 and above. Chin Med J (Engl) 1987 Nov;100(11):886–892. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Wu A. H., Yu M. C., Thomas D. C., Pike M. C., Henderson B. E. Personal and family history of lung disease as risk factors for adenocarcinoma of the lung. Cancer Res. 1988 Dec 15;48(24 Pt 1):7279–7284. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Xiao H. P., Xu Z. Y. Air pollution and lung cancer in Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China. Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 1985 Dec;69:53–58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Xu Z. Y., Blot W. J., Xiao H. P., Wu A., Feng Y. P., Stone B. J., Sun J., Ershow A. G., Henderson B. E., Fraumeni J. F., Jr Smoking, air pollution, and the high rates of lung cancer in Shenyang, China. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1989 Dec 6;81(23):1800–1806. doi: 10.1093/jnci/81.23.1800. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Zheng W., Blot W. J., Liao M. L., Wang Z. X., Levin L. I., Zhao J. J., Fraumeni J. F., Jr, Gao Y. T. Lung cancer and prior tuberculosis infection in Shanghai. Br J Cancer. 1987 Oct;56(4):501–504. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1987.233. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Ziegler R. G. A review of epidemiologic evidence that carotenoids reduce the risk of cancer. J Nutr. 1989 Jan;119(1):116–122. doi: 10.1093/jn/119.1.116. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES